From: Stein, Jack
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 2:34 PM
To: Johnson, Bob; Smelser, Ron
Cc: Castaneda, Armando; Desgraves, Sean; Dyer, Rodney; Edgecombe, Jason; Rhodes, Terry;
Whisler, Dave; Wale, Nicolas; Peshave, Mitesh; Verner, Andrew; Williams, Roy; Hatley, Nathaniel;
Gortney, William; Hayes, Raven; Walters, Kyle; Edwards, Travis; 'Andrew Stein'; Andre, Sandeep;
Rahane, Ameya; Plover, Mark; Speice, Bradlee; Poindexter, Andrew
Subject: Mosaic and PCS status for week ending Feb 28,2011 –March 6,2011
Mosaic and PCS status for week ending Feb 28,2011 –March 6,2011
Key highlights:
 Usage of Mosaic and PCS services:
 Lab usage is quite high with the following peaks during the week: Smith 249 (42 out of
44); Smith 260 (32 out of 33); Smith 225 (37 out of 43); Smith 229 (30 out of 30) , Duke
242 (51 out of 53) Duke 323 (25 out of 25) , Cameron 109 (33 out of 38), Cameron 113
(19 out of 19), Cameron 213 (17 out of 20), Woodward 208 (11 of 12), Woodward 237 (9
of 17), Woodward 243 (16 out of 17)
 Student work areas is heavily used as study areas, team/group meetings and laptop use.
 Mosaic Anywhere servers usage peaked at 66 systems (out of 84) on Tuesday March 1
 Linux X-server usage is at record high count. (see graph below)
 COEConnect usage continue to gain (see graph below)
 Work Orders volume in PCS is stabilizing (see graph below)
 Customer tickets volume is stabilizing (see graph below)
 Migration efforts from Unix to Linux on our infrastructure:
 File Servers:
 fs-sm2 has been shut down after data migration for fs-sm6 & fs-sm8 has been completed.
Here is an update on data migration:
 Solaris Servers
1. fs-sm3 print server
2. fs-sm5 in progress
3. fs-me1 print server
4. fs-me2
5. fs-me3
6. fs-me4 in process
7. fs-me5 Disk Farm
8. fs-ece1 print server
9. fs-ece2
10. fs-ece3
11. fs-ece4 in process
 Linux AFS Fileservers
1. fs-sm6
2. fs-sm8
3. fs-ece5
4. fs-ece6
5. fs-me6
6. fs-me7
 Web Server migrate off Unix:
1. Conversion of more web sites to Linux web servers continues. By end of March
2011 we should be off the Unix web server.
2. Continued efforts to fix printing support in new UNC Charlotte template.
3. On Friday March 4 we lost web browsing connectivity for about 1 hour due to
an issue with our Unix Web server.
4. Issues with SPART web site access was resolved.
5. We continue to have slow down issues with our Linux web servers. The latest
issue was diagnosed to be related to a broken Google Calendar access to Google
– disabled this for now.
 Printing migrated off Unix:
1. Plan to have this done in the summer.
 Back End file servers support (VLDB, Kerberos) migrated off Unix:
1. Plan to have this done in the summer.
 Oracle servers migrated off Unix:
1. Plan to have this done in Spring 2012
 MySQL Serves migrated off Unix
1. Plan to have this done in Summer of 2012
Migration from Windows XP to Windows 7:
 Efforts continue to determine our Windows 7/Mosaic II strategy. Research work has picked
up with Nathan focused on this with direction from Rodney.
 Work continues to test the install and configuration of the Ubuntu VM as well as installation of the
Android SDK as a test.
 Levine Scholar office has signed off on the Memo of Understanding (MOU) for the support that
PCS will provide to the Levin Scholars program for a fee.
 ITS has replaced an Access Point and installed a new one in Duke 242 to address the weak
wireless signal on 2nd floor of Duke. An audit by ITS and PCS of the area shows great
improvement.
 PCS conducted an audit of Smith wireless. All areas show weaker signal than 1 year ago. Working
with Patty and Tony to get their priority areas where AP upgrade is required. This is due 3/10/11
 Position 3990 has been be re-posted and the description was made more precise about the
required job qualifications. Posting is until March 20. Position is posted on the HR web site,
Career Builder and will be advertized in the Charlotte Observer.
 Received word about funding availability to hire another Mosaic resource. Funding is from EPIC.
Position Description and justification will be produced.
 Duke web cams project moving forward. Location for recording PC has been identified. Camera
installation is progressing and is being handled by CSS. Networking is getting the network
connectivity in place.
 Met with Ian Ferguson and Ron Sass to review issues with ECE and Mosaic as well as how to
better work and coordinate requests, set expectations.
 CFAC meeting was scheduled for March 8 but Civil and OSDS reps cannot make it so we are re-
scheduling (agenda: status of software and tokens; status of virtual XP; virtual Ubuntu; student
organization web and disk space; Senior Project disk and computer needs; Linux workshops)
 Working on compiling a budget request for one time funding.
 Attended a meeting to review how to improve emergency notification to the desk top and to digital
display. CSS has a plug-in that we will test on our system.
 Walk thru with Dean, Patty, Tony, Armando to assess renovation work in Smith 249 to
accommodate office for Armando and new Help Desk area. Sean will be moving to Smith 226 and
Armando to Smith 249. Room layout is being reviewed.
 Attended a meeting with Terry, Jane and Robin involving Scott Brechtel to assess requirements
for offsite storage of tapes and paper. An RFP is being compiled by Scott.
 Met with Roy, Jason, and Nathan to review status of projects. Roy is leaving UNC Charlotte.
 Met with Aba Ebong, new ECE faculty, to review Mosaic and PCS services.
 Attended a Mosaic and PCS support meeting led by Armando.
 Sean updated the draft ―Laptop Best Practices‖ and sent it to Jay Dominick and Tom York
(auditor) for feedback.
 Will be assessing Solidworks versus ProE for Steve Patterson as the college tries to focus on one
product.
 The restricted data policy is now official and I will be scheduled for a training session so I
understand what my role is for the college.
 Working with Classroom Support (Lee Perkins) to see if we can make the podium based Mosaic
workstation lock out users from changing the audio controls.
 Worked with Andrew Poindexter on Laptop Purchasing Guide
 Working with Chuck Price on Matlab campus license agreement.
 Requested a meeting with ITS to assess if we should be using BigFix for Mosaic Windows and
Mosaic Linux.
 Dan Rowe informed us late Friday that the condenser unit which is used to cool the Smith server
room between Smith and Prospector is ready to be moved during spring break. We are trying to
get a schedule.
 Reviewed with Andrew Poindexter the Linux pages on the Mosaic Web site
 Reviewed IE9 document from PCS
 Reviewed ProE 5 Student Edition document from PCS
 Tested Printer/Plotter management web app from Mitesh
 Tested MRS fixes from Mark
 Tested Senior Design Project Management web app from Mark
 Linux news:
 Linux project meeting
Infrastructure:
a. We are investigating issues with the iMac systems in Smith 229 and Smith 225, they appear
hung/frozen at random times. Terry is taking the lead with Chris Epting in the NineTech
Apple store to get a better understanding of the iMac.
b. Will need to set up a schedule to backup of all Active Directory, license, probe, and build
servers.
c. Will need to schedule an upgrade to our AD servers and other Microsoft Server to Windows
Server 2008 64 bit
d. Need to determine why the afs folder appears mysteriously in directories.
e. Need to remove applications and volumes.
f. Need to plan for upgrade to MySQL
g. Need to plan for upgrade to Joomla
Applications:
 Synopsys renewal has come in – gave to ECE. Application due March 9; PO due April 5
 Assessing request from ET for a suite of Autodesk apps (Revit) to install on Mosaic for Fall
2011
 Visual Modflow – release planned for June 2011.
 HFSS renewal (expires 2/28/11) – License renewed.
 Abaqus renewal (expires 4/31/11) – funding for the research license from MEES and for
teaching license from Mosaic has been done and a PO issued. License has been updated on
our license server.
 License file has been updated for NI Labview and Multisim.
 CFD ACE (expired 1/15/11) - waiting on Mesbah Uddin to move forward.
 RAM structural Steel a new version from Bentley needs to be rolled out.
 Office 2010 will be released in the summer of 2011.
 Renewal of Aveva PDMS software license completed. Have a license file. Not installing this
license file as no one is using the product in the college.
 Need to look at the Codevision C Compiler issue that fails on Mosaic windows.
Other:
 Assessing new models of laptops from Dell, HP and Apple for new students
 Working with Jay Dominick on how to get Mosaic inserted into the computer purchases
approval process from the college of engineering. With the e-Procurement we are no longer
given access to the purchases of systems and often are blind sided with the purchases and time
gets wasted.
 Plans forming for a CSW 2011 in summer session. May 24 8:30 am and 11:30 am; May 25, 1
session.
 We are assessing how we handle remote access for Windows and Linux users. Proposal to
modify Device DB and other back end processing.
 We will be evaluating a bug tracking system (web based). Bugzilla and JIRA are 2 of the
products.
 Working on Facebook presence for the college. Mike H and I attended an on line class on
social networking on Nov 8,9 – some value to this but I will be reviewing a book called
―Facebook for Dummies‖ to better understand this social media outlet and how it can be
utilized in the college for recruitment, and helping the college with keeping up with our
alumni. Meeting was held with Ben M, Mike H and the Dean to come up with a Face Book
strategy.
 Hosting of the 2011 AFS and Kerberos Best Practices at UNCC - June 6-10, 2011
o With help from Ron Smelser and Bev Guessford the locations has been finalized.
o YFS approved and signed off on the cost for the 2011 AFS/Kerberos conference
at UNCC.
 Reviewing 3 books in the series of ―Knock Your Socks Service‖ – will be using these in the
Help Desk. These books are used at CPCC.
 Received from Jay Dominick the iPhone iOS SDK licensed for the campus. There are so
many implications from this program that it is not clear we want to even deal with this right
now.
Customer Support:
 Abaqus license ran out due to high activity in URC cluster by users – not much we can do.
 WIMBA issues – working with Matt Davis
 Ansys customer issues trying to determine why Ansys is not working on some Mosaic XP
systems; I am working to assess the costs of an Academic Research license for Nilabh
 WinTR support still in progress
 iSQft Viewer in Smith 202c resolved.
 issue with using iTunes by Ron Smelser is still
 Investigation by Travis on Autodesk Architecture 2008 failure on some systems
 Ted Jarrell is having issues with Autodesk and Rodney has run out of ideas; Will Gortney has
a possible solution.
 Loaner Opti980 to Dr. Sleiti is to be returned
 Defined guidelines on how Mosaic will host web sites and disk space for engineering student
organizations. Created a Google doc for tracking the organizations.
 Pending ECE requests awaiting on Ron Sass for disposition:
 complying with the requirements of the Synopsys software renewal ;
 ticket 7912 – request to re-install Matlab for Alec Martin in Woodward 200 lab;
 ticket 7917 – request to convert a Mosaic system to a non-Mosaic system;
 ticket 7965 – request for Mosaic workstation from David Binkley
 ticket 8124 - 6 systems for Dr. Aravind Kailas lab that run Mosaic Windows and support
Ubuntu VM
Web:
 Mitesh is on track with efforts on the Printer/Plotter Management Web App. A schedule has
been developed with milestones. Test plans updated on Google docs; bugs and bug tracking -
all in Google doc. The Mosaic Help desk has begun testing milestone 1 and 2. Tested Printer
Management web app
 Raven has completed the inventory of Mosaic network printers and plotters -
tracking this in a Google doc. This will be used in the printer management web
application.
 Device Data Base will be updated by Armando to accurately reflect Mosaic
printers on the network that we support; All other printers will be reviewed
before removed. Dave Whisler to make changes to Device Data Base to capture
more info on printers.
 Researching use of SNMP for probing the Mosaic network printers.
 We are making good efforts and progress on the Senior Design Project based a committed
schedule for the project. Mark Plover is working on this. Project is on track with Milestone 1
(nearly complete), Milestone 2 3 and 4 are complete.
 Working with Sandeep and Andrew on ticket system enhancements to improve productivity
for the Mosaic and PCS Help Desk. The Mosaic Help desk will begin testing in April.
 Dave is continuing the efforts to transition COE web pages to the new UNC Charlotte
template. Only ET remain to be converted and we are waiting for Tony.
 Coordinating the work efforts of Andrew Stein for Shenen Chen on NCRST and ISRV
research project. A Bridgeview Android based application is being developed.
 Work on COEConnect version 2 is completed. Released to Jack, Peter S, Bob Johnson, Dan
Rowe, Robin Moose and a few others for internal testing. Andrew V is working on the
COEConnect II web interface when time permits for managing the new service for remote
access and for the access to licensed applications form a laptop.
 Dave is scanning all the college web pages for broken links and fixing these or sending
reports to representatives in departments.
 Travis is working with the ACL Manager when time permits– several meetings and review of
the User Interface were held.
 iPeer version 2.2 (from the Univ of British Columbia) has been released. Will investigate with
UBC their plans for enhancements we need and if we can deploy it with fixes on our system.
 Dave is working with some number of faculty on Wordpress.
 Andrew Stein has prototyped a flash based easy to use ―Did You Know‖, ―FAQ‖ and ―What
is‖
 Migration of our Web site hosting to Linux servers continues. Weekly, more sites will be
migrated as Jason is managing the roll out using a spreadsheet in
N:\uncc\coe\mosaic_lab_group\Documentation\Web\Projects\Linux server migration The
Mosaic and PCS TA are helping out by verifying and testing specific pages for each web site
that migrates. This has been very helpful.
Progress of College Web site migrations from Unix to Linux:
Total sites: 89
Sites migrated 36
Sites in Progress 0
Sites NOT migrated: 53
Sites proxied: 50
Percent complete 40%
Facilities:
 Request by ITS to replace the network racks with new ones and new gear in smith 253 server
room. This is an ongoing project. No date for when the changeover will actually occur. At this
point there are no new racks or equipment from ITS in our Smith 253 server room. The
decision has been made to use network cabinets instead of network racks to prevent having to
drill the floor.
 Liebert cooling unit in Duke server room shut off by itself when cooling went down and it
should have stayed operational. Needs looked at.
 Working with Dan on the condenser relocation project. An exterior staircase is planned for the
Prospector right smack where the current condenser is sitting in between Smith and
Prospector. The unit will need moved and we will need supplemental cooling for the Smith
server room. Dan is coordinating the entire project.
 We are waiting on Dan to close up on the details of costs for the EPIC server room. We are
trying to determine what are all the pieces and part that make up the high costs of the Mosaic
Server Room, Staging Room and offices for Terry in the EPIC Building.
 Working with David Love on Lenel Card Access for Cameron 213 – scheduled for Spring
break in March
 Working with David Love on quote for Lenel Access to Smith 249 and Duke 323 – scheduled
for Spring break in March
Help Desk Support Management:
 PCS Competency assessment has been revised. Sean conducted an assessment with the new
PCS TA.
 Mosaic TA Competency Assessment has been revised. Armando conducted an assessment
with the new Mosaic TA.
Workstations and Servers:
 Terry is coordinating the deployment of the Dell systems for faculty/staff desktop. 80
Optiplex 980 systems for faculty refresh ($50,000 funded by ITS/Provost) = $50,129 by
Mosaic
PCS:
 PCS staff is using Google docs to track PCS projects.
 Evaluation of Google Chrome OS is in progress
 Sean continue to deal with the ramification from a stolen laptop that Dr. Lim (SEEM)
reported. Sean is following up with ITS (laptop has the LoJack Computrace anti theft
software on it) and providing weekly update. We are working to get the insurance money
from this theft thru LoJack.
 Sean will be doing an evaluation of iPad apps that CPCC has posted.
 A ―Laptop Purchasing Guideline‖ is being compiled as a single all-in-one document to
capture all the in and outs of purchasing and owning a laptop. A draft is ready for review.
Administrative
 Mosaic and PCS Welcome Package – something I will work on.
 Need to attend departmental faculty meetings once a semester to get more feedback from
them on technical strategy.
MISCL:
 Need to test Cell Server DB outage and impact on Windows client (Terry and Rodney).
Need most current version of AFS client [Need the most current version of AFS client on
Windows]
 Large file copy in AFS needs tested (Rodney) [Need the most current version of AFS client
on Windows on our AFS servers]
 Upgrade to latest OpenAFS client 1.5.7xxx.[ In Process]
 Rollout fix for OpenAFS client ―write‖ performance issue. [On Hold]
 Need to figure out why AFS folders magically show up on our system.
 AFS testing with Outlook and OST files - installed latest client build [Need new client and
testing]
 Rodney is scheduled to work with ITS to make sure our Mosaic component for logging into
Netware is covered. An email conversation with ITS has started.
 Mosaic Application strategy efforts:
 Nick completed the set up on Google docs for assessing application usage. This will
be completed by PCS
 Rodney needs to fix a bug in the Mosaic Tool to analyze the data.
 Lab views charts on our web - need to see if we show the LWS and MWS usage
 Monitoring the W237 Linux usage (dual mode usage)
 Looking into adding more power strips in labs (where feasible) so students can take out their
laptops and work right on the table where the workstation is located.
 Work on the Business Continuity Plan document continues but slowly.
 probe of cx-xxx needs support (Rodney, Dave)
 Digital Signage - add labmap and virtual tour to the slide show (Jack);
 Dept of Insurance Equipment coverage needs to be addressed on our vehicles. (Terry,
Armando)
 Need to get added feature to Nagios – who to call for resolving problems
 Handling of special rooms in Device DB (Help Desk, Lecture Capture)
 Web Analytics
Linux Compute server usage (LXS-ME1):
Linux X-Server usage LXS-SM1; LXS-SM2; LXS-SM3; LXS-ME2; LXS-ME3 (without the Compute
Server):
COEConnect usage statistics:
Customer Support data ticket statistics:
Personal Computer Support Work Orders Statistics:
Applications:
· Updates to AppDB for all new software, upgrades.
· Installed license for new Intel Fortran compiler and C++ for 64 bit Linux – 2 seats. Need to
remove older 2 seat 32 bit Fortran
· AppDB work:
• Remove Centra
· Apps that have no support/maintenance:
• OriginPro
• Tecplot
· In limbo – no faculty sponsor
• Trip generation
• ArcPad
• GRL Weap
• FB Multipier
· Linux Red Hat Support renewal
Planned Mosaic Windows Release Schedule:
Application AppID Scheduled Release Notes
FireFox 3.6.14 firefox3614 Friday, March 18, 2011
Adobe Flash v.10.1.102.64 plugin flash10n Friday, March 18, 2011
Adobe Acrobat X plugin acroread100 Friday, March 18, 2011
Shockwave v.11.5.9.615 plugin swave115 Friday, March 18, 2011
Silverlight v.4.0.51204.0 Friday, March 18, 2011
Java 6 v.6 Update 23 plugin Friday, March 18, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011 Issue with Feb. update. Issues have be
Inventor Tooling 2010 tooling2010 and will be re-released in March.
Snagit 10 Friday, March 18, 2011
Repair of AutoCAD Architecture adt08r1 Friday, March 18, 2011
2008
Emergency Notifications RSS Feed ? Will be tested with help from Lee Per
Office plug-in for Moodle ? Researching
Visual Modflow Pro June, 2011 Release after end of the semester
Applications planned for Mosaic Linux
Application Scheduled Release
Agilent ADS - waiting on release from May
vendor
Agilent ICCAP March
Cadence 6 March
Intel vTune March
Android SDK March
OpenOffice 3.3 April
Synopsys April
Comsol 4.2 (vendor release in May) May
Products or Application Projects that need to be addressed:
a. LabView on Windows
b. Cygwin
c. SolidWorks 2010* on Windows
d. Decision Tools 5.5
e. Adams patch
f. Netbeans Windows
g. Latex issue with performance needs addressed
h. LS-Dyna license needs installed (we are using URC)
i. Implement the 30 days expiration notice when accounts are about to expire
* These packages are used by different departments and we should reach out at CFAC to make them aware
of the coming upgrade.
Planned vacation March 9, 10,11
Jason Edgecombe:
Comp Time: 1 hours
Vacation: Friday, March 4
Done:
 Troubleshot a web server issue caused by someone too many files at once.
 Discussed stray StarCCM jobs on Linux with Uddin. Killed several stray processes by hand.
Killed an unused license checkout
 Figured out the cause of the 502 gateway errors on the solaris web server. reduced the Log rotation
frequency and disabled apache restarts via cfengine to reduce the occurrences.
 Fixed a graphics issue on lws58 for Evan Rowell by installing the legacy ATI driver by hand.
 Set up the SEEM Copier as a network scanner and showed Andrew Verner how it was done.
 Reviewed and provided feedback on the Mosaic capital budget
 Fixed a Joomla login issue for Mike Hermann
 Met with Roy, Jack, and Nathan to discuss puppet/cfengine/bigfix on RHEL6
 Revoked Roy‘s Linux admin access.
 Configured the Solaris web server to proxy all non-SSL traffic to Linux
 Fixed a web site issue for Dr. Miri by enabling apache folder indexes in the dist_ed folder.
 Fixed the SPART web site under Linux. Changed our custom Joomla content protection plug-in so
that Office 2007 documents open correctly.
 Created some space in AFS for the Fluendo (mp3‘s on Linux) setup script for Bradlee.
 Helped Dr. Kailas with some tech issues. The cause was that his tokens had expired.
 Cleaned up the cgi-bin folders.
 Ported the secure cgi-bin programs (changepassword, WebPE, WebHW, etc) to Linux. Ready to
proxy all Web traffic (SSL and non-SSL) to Linux
Waiting:
 Troubleshooting Linux web server slowness. – ticket open with YFS. I have a procedure to run the
next time things are slow. Seems to be a problem with Google Calendar being unavailable.
In Progress - Jason:
 Need to fix mod_security rules for mosaic web site
 Make a Linux web server build with failover to replace coe-web. All content migrated. All content
will be proxied for a testing period.
Solaris to Linux migration dates:
nov-Dec : *done* Migrate all hostnames EXCEPT coe.uncc.edu, www.coe.uncc.edu and
secure.coe.uncc.edu to coe-web3
Jan : Have production web servers ready with failover (coe-web1 & coe-web2)
Dec-Feb 2011: migrate sites and apps from *coe.uncc.edu to Linux – ready to Proxy
Non-web To Do list for Jason - prioritized:
* Deliver the Linux based web server solution and migrate us off the Unix web server. The Linux web
server will need monitored, be set up for load balancing.
* Provide training and documentation for the college on Linux.
* By Dec 2010, deliver a Linux based file server or servers solution into production. We will use the
period of Jan 2011 – May 2011 to verify this solution and then migrate all Unix file servers and support
systems to Linux in the summer of 2011.
* install proprietary ATI driver on Mosaic Linux
* Received openafs RPM instructions from YFS. Need to test and incorporate them into the fileserver
builds.
* port solaris back-end scripts from solaris to Linux - depends on Linux server build
* upgrade storage driver on coe-web1 & 2.
* Add Nagios Dell openmanage plugin into production.
Dave Whisler:
-------------------
Mosaic
Attended weekly staff meeting
Resolved Mosaic user account issues, disk quota, etc.
Helped Jack with a content issue on Mosaic website
Deleted three old instances of PhpMyAdmin and upgraded the 3 rd to the latest version
Diagnosing an issue with the old solaris webserver (coe-web).
COE
Made some changes to the template per Mike / Ron Smelser
My Webscanning found that the UNCC twitter site was not responding, reported issue to ITS web
group
All UNCC sites using the new template would have a broken Twitter feed, including our 28
websites in the COE.
Apparently someone renamed the Twitter feed – ITS did not seem to know about the issue. They
put it back in place.
Researched an issue Mike was having with the COE website
Reported an issue with the ―jobs‖ website related to the template to Cindy Jones/David McIntosh
Changed Discover Engineering webform to email Billie-Jo the registrations
ET
Trying to get Tony B. to review the beta ET site and give me guidance on menu restructuring
(no success getting a response from Tony yet – waiting on him)
ECE
Debugged a problem with this site with IE browser – not opening PPTX files correctly.
Jason made a config change to the Linux webservers – now all MS-Office 2007 format files open
fine in IE
Found and reported some bad links to ECE to fix
Made a menu change for Gina
Fixed Asset DB
Loaded the latest scanner data, processed it and emailed the results to Jane Stewart and John
Cashion
SPART
Wrote up and ran some SQL to dump a list of all COE faculty emails to a file for Cathy Blat
Fixed a problem with the SPART site due to the migration to the new Linux webservers
AdminDB
Did a full export of the database for Kevin Edwards in ITS
MEES
Found and reported some bad links to Tracy to fix.
PHPSupport
Researching and testing optimizing the schema
LiveHelp
New version of LiveHelp – researching changes/migration path.
Will upgrade LiveHelp to new release over summer
MySQL
New version of MySQL – version 5.5
Looking at the new features/benefits and researching the migration path to it
Joomla
Did ―global search and replace‖ on all Joomla websites changing any instances of UNCC to UNC
Charlotte
Downloaded the latest version of the JCE Editor
Downloaded the latest version of the Display News Module
Downloaded the latest version of the Very Simple Gallery Plugin
Downloaded Joomla 1.6 release
Helped Mike write up an email of all items that we need the ―content owners‖ to do on their
Joomla websites
Looking at the new version of Joomla – version 1.6
Checking all of our Joomla extensions to see which ones are already compliant with Joomla 1.6
Will be potentially moving to Joomla 1.6 over the summer
WordPress
Helped Sara McMillan with her WordPress site
Installed a new plugin (icalevents) that integrates events from webcalendars (like Google
calendar) with your WordPress site
Set it up on Sara McMillan‘s for her Google Calendar on her WP site
Upgraded the following WordPress plugins: WPTouch, SuperEdit, and NexGen Gallery
Looking at the features of a brand-new version of WordPress – version 3.1
Will be testing it out and looking at migration to it, need to check Plugins to ensure compatibility
Research into methods of integrating web-calendars into WordPress
Found several different WordPress Plug-ins to do this, sent into to Bowen/Braganza/McMillan to
review
Research on Twitter and Facebook integration plugins for WordPress
Terry Rhodes:
• Network issue with Woodward 1st and 2nd floors over weekend of 02/26 & 02/27
ITS networking found a network cable with stripped wiring that had tx & rx touching
causing a look in the network. Cable was located in one of ECE's standalone test labs.
• Building Optiplex 980 computers for deployment to Faculty desks during week
of Spring break
• Meeting with Chris Epting and Dave Tabone from Campus Apple Store concerning
iMac issues that we have seen with the latest model iMac
• Worked with OCSS to facilitate a repair for the USB ports on the podium machine
in Duke 207
• Worked network issue with Mosaic computer in Woodward 465 Lab
• Continue data migration from fs-sm5
• Continue data migration from fs-me4
• Continue data migration from fs-ece4
• Meeting with ITS networking about Campus self-reg plan that has been implemented
in some buildings on campus already.
• Installed Mosaic desktop computer upgrade for Charles Lee, Woodward 481B
• Installed Mosaic desktop computer upgrade for Gloria Elliott, Woodward 481C
• Installed Mosaic desktop computer upgrade for Robin Coger, Woodward 481D
• Worked issue for Dr Miri regarding ECGR2252W distance ed file access
• Converted PowerEdge 390 from Mosaic XP to Mosaic Linux in Grigg 279
• Building volumes and mounts in AFS as requested
• Replicated volumes as requested by Mosaic Staff
• Working to perform normal job duties
• Performed weekly AFS backups to tape
• Working to reorganize storage rooms
Rodney Dyer:
week ending 3/6/11:
* 2 days off sick Thursday 3/3/11 to Friday 3/4/11.
* Installed the Dview Camera 2.0 software and applied Trend Micro fix
for the TA machine mws130, ticket ID #8071.
* Prepped for printer install "seemcopy", Ricoh Aficio MP5001 for
Armando. This has not been applied to the SEEM machines yet. Will
be done this week.
* Conversations with Terry and ITS about adding a DNS campus alias for
the ProofPoint SMTP submit server. Carter is now working to make
this happen.
* More Windows 7 and server 2008 conversations with Nathan. Working
through the research on what our new platform architecture will be.
* Removal of web "datarptcgi" Mosaic Utilization Reporting Center
web site so that Jason could move on with the web migration.
* A check of Jacks machine to find out why it rebooted on its own.
Found Windows ―Automatic Update‖ was ―enabled".
* Found issue with Mosaic XP Maintenance Update process "phase2"
scripts have Chad's email hardcoded, so they will need to all be
changed. This will be a search and destroy mission.
* Comment on Dane Hughes (COED) proposed use of VM'ing for LABS and
faculty, and staff machines.
* Comments to Nathan over use of "setx.exe" and deprecation of
"tlist.exe" on Windows.
* Investigation of Terry's find that the iMac problems might be caused
by having 8 Gig of memory installed. Lots of reading.
* Status report, and Tuesday staff meeting.
Armando Castaneda:
 Close Mosaic tickets
 Meet with PCS to discuss workload
 Met with Dean Johnson, Tony Brizendine, Patty Tolley and Jack to discuss Smith 249 helpdesk
relocation options. The Dean has asked that alternate layouts be provided of the 3 rd floor corridor
and the nook to provide more desk space for students.
 Emailed Amanda for ruling as to whether a table can be placed in the corridor in front of the Smith
249 lab.
 Communicated with David George concerning the pending visit of the Tasca Racing team to UNC
Charlotte on March 22nd at 2pm. I have asked for his cooperation and assistance in promoting this
event
 Resolved the missing documents issue with Ron Priebe
 Emailed Amanda concerning the usage of the utility room behind Smith 249 for overflow
equipment
 Redesigned the Smith 3rd floor nook area as requested. This new design allows for more students
to face each other and work as a group.
 Staff meeting
 TA project meeting
 Updated the Mosaic/PCS ticket CSV file to reflect the month of February
 Opened a work order to have the locking mechanism on the inside door handle of Smith 249
repaired
 Requested that either Amanda or Drew visit me to address the questions that where aired during
our meeting concerning the pending move into Smith 249
 Emailed Chris McKinney to see if power can be rerouted in the 3 rd floor nook in Smith
 Emailed Mr. William Moore from Heartland Construction to provide a quote for the Smith 249
move
 Sent Kevin Oakley a follow up email concerning the HP certification course
 Met with William Moore from Heartland Construction. He has taken the needed measurements
and has made several suggestions. He will provide a quote next week.
 Met with McKinney concerning the electrical outlet in the Smith 3 rd floor nook area. Chris has
made a suggestion to add a ―Tombstone‖ (a receptacle that sits atop the table and provides 2
outlets) to provide the students access they need. This is in lieu of a outlet strip or tables with built
in outlets that are more expensive. Chris was also made aware of the addition of a table in the 3 rd
floor corridor.
 Sent COE students the announcement concerning the upgraded wifi signal in Duke 2 nd floor
 Received free chair parts to repair Smith 260 lab stools
Sean Desgraves:
Weekly report for the week of: 2/28/11
 Went to Mosaic Staff Meeting on Tuesday
 Went to Mosaic and PCS Project Meeting on Thursday
 Monitoring and working on Mosaic and PCS tickets and Work Orders
 Monitoring cameras, Live Help and Nagios
 Processing print quota requests as they come in
 Still in progress – Following up on a stolen laptop reported by Churlzu Lim; scanned the Quote
and PO, received by Jack, and forwarded this information to ITS as proof that Absolute LoJack
was purchased with the system, waiting to hear back from them that the laptop has reported in to
the Absolute server; informed Churlzu of the following information:
- Contacted Absolute to report the issue – LoJack was purchased with laptop from Lenovo but
it hasn‘t reported to the server. I was given a case number: 7595621377.
- Contacted Mike Carr to get information on the official date the stolen laptop was reported to
Absolute and what the reimbursement amount due to the customer – received the following
information: (1) Absolute Software theft status for your laptop has not changed. They are still
waiting for the 1st contact. (2) The laptop is in the 60 day recovery period. After 90 days, if
Absolute is unable to find the laptop, there will be a reimbursement amount of $600 since the
laptop is in the 3rd year of ownership. Updated Churlzu with this information
- Followed up with Mike for a current status update – sent this to Churlzu; nothing new to
report except that the end-date for Absolute to search for the unit is March 1 st after which a
check in the amount of $600 will be issued to the University (received by Mike Carr)
- (NEW) Sent Churlzu an update that Absolute was unable to locate the stolen laptop within the
3 month search period and that Mike Carr has sent an email to the Recovery Services
Department asking what the next step is to procure the reimbursement amount of $600
 Still in Progress: Duke Camera Project for Scott Smith (Status):
- Informed Scott Smith that all equipment has been received and that I‘m following up with
Networking and Classroom support for the installation of networking and the cameras
- Provided Steve Clark and Sam White with an FYI that networking installation started so that
he could begin planning for the camera installation; met with Sam White and Fred Leazer in
Duke to review the current standing of the project with them; Classroom Support is providing
Fred Leazer with a conduit run for him to be able to run his network cable to the appropriate
locations in Duke 125 – this was finished on Friday; Fred will come back to run his cable next
week
- Networking has finished the installation of the rooms on the second floor (Duke 217, 219, 236
and 240)
- Contacted Thomas Koch for placement of the recording PC which is mostly ready but will be
completed after the installation of the cameras
- Provided Terry with the list of cameras and the computer that are going to be installed in
Duke for network registration – received confirmation that the cameras and PC have been
registered and are ready to be given to Classroom Support for installation; will do this next
week
- (NEW)Updated Scott on the status of the camera project from the above items
- (NEW) Followed up with Sam White on the status of the camera installation – was informed
that this would be done during Spring Break when the rooms would be available without
interruption; informed Sam that the cameras and POE adapters are available for pickup and
that I’ve labeled each camera per their assigned locations;
- (NEW) Provided Steve Clark with a signed copy of the Duke Camera Installation quote per
his request
- (NEW) Followed up with Fred Leazer to find out the status of the Networking installation in
Duke 125 (this is the final room) – waiting for his response
 Still In progress: BigFix – followed up with Mike Carr and after some testing where Mike was
granted remote access into a PCS loaner laptop – it was determined by Mike that he would have to
manually move the systems reporting to the BigFix server over the COE group (which is the only
group I can see) allowing me to see them – we would have to report the computer/host name for
each system that needs to be moved over
 In Progress: Tom York sent comments on the Best Laptop Practices document; implemented his
recommendations and resent it to Jay Dominick and Tom York (copied Jack and Armando) for
final feedback; placed the updated copy in our documentation folder
 Working with Mike Carr on licensing of AutoCAD 2011; followed up with Mike – he placed a
64-bit version of AutoCAD 2011 on the server which I burned for testing by PCS; working with
PCS to produce documentation for the installation and licensing process for this software
 Worked with Terry on an iMac that has a physical hard drive problem; contacted Terry that the
iMac has returned from ITS for repair – Closed Ticket No. 8042
 The ―PCS Table of Contents‖ is almost done – instructions are being put together for how to
administer the site (this is the last step and will be completed during Spring Break)
 Worked with PCS on the wireless audit for the Duke building which was done after the
improvements by ITS – provided Jack with a color printout of the report
 Worked with PCS to provide Jack with wireless survey for all offices of Smith 228
 Working with PCS to review several iPad Apps that can added to the list of Apps that are
promoted for use within the COE (specifically as teaching tools for faculty) – these are listed in
Google Docs
 Assisted Ron Smelser with COEConnect 2 on his Acer laptop (he was previously using the 1st
version)
 Assisted Brett Tempest via PCS with setting up a MacMini he purchased; Windows 7 and
LabView – Work Order Closed
 Assisted Cathy Blat with getting Office 2011 installed on the Mac OS X side on her campus-
owned MacBook Pro
 Provided Austin with the PCS Competency Assessment which he completed; I will review by the
end of next week and hope to go over the assessment with him
 Updated the PCS Work Orders CSV file with February‘s stats for opened and closed work orders
 Met with Terry, Chris Epting and Dave Tabone for updates from the NinerTech store and Mac
Support
 Worked with Robin Moose to have items ordered by us processed as received for payment
 Assisted Kevin Holley with how to access MSDNAA site
 Provided Dan Hoch with a disk quota increase request per Ticket No. 8111 – Ticket Closed
 Provided Ian Ferguson with help on reactivating Windows 7 on his MacBook Air and installing
COEConnect 2
 Sent an email to Dr. Abasifreke Ebong to offer assistance with setting him up for COEConnect 2
and Exchange email on his mobile phone; waiting on his reply
 Assisted Martin Kane with setting up COEConnect 2 and useful features in Mac OS X
 Provided Kevin Bowden with information on how to install Pro E on his laptop
 Assisted Bob Johnson with an iPad calendar issue
 Updated training account records for the ITS training account logins
 Provided Claude Hargrove with assistance for COEConnect 2
 Started a document for faculty and staff on the process of activating Windows 7 from off campus;
should have this finished during Spring Break
Andrew Verner:
-Finished setting up SEEM scanner with Jason.
-Resolved issue with iSqFt on MWS 466.
-Updated license files for Multisim, Labview, and Abaqus.
-Investigating Wimba issues in Duke 242.
-Working on packaging SnagIt 10.0—trying to track down a permission error.
Travis Edwards:
 Deployed solution for AutoCAD 2008 Architecture on MWS414 per user‘s request. Contacted
user to ask if he could try the software again to see if his problem was solved. Have not heard
back from the user yet.
 Investigated AutoCAD 2010 issue (ticket 7989). Have not been able to reproduce the issue yet.
 Downloaded media and created packages for the following applications to be released during the
March update:
o Firefox 3.6.14
o Flash 10n
o Shockwave 11.5.9
o Adobe Acrobat X
 Created package for a repair of AutoCAD Architecture 2008. We have not yet done a repair for
Mosaic, so we had to come up with a new template.
 Updated Mosaic Software release schedule.
 Rebuilt primary machine on Friday due to freezing an increasing number of times per day (froze 3
times in 30 minutes on Friday).
Nicholas Wale:
Time off to work on Senior Design
Working on creating CSS for optimized printing
Mitesh Peshave:
Completed the session handling. When the session times out the apps redirects to login page.
Completed a few tasks of milestone 3 and 4.
Nathan Hatley:
Projects:
 Ubuntu VM using VirtualBox as the VM engine.
o Scripts still need a little work for ‗future proofing‘; will be taken care of at a later point.
o The image has been updated to add shared folder support between the host and guest.
 The scripts have been updated by Bradlee and I to deal with the shared folder
support.
o UbuntuVM will be released once the Android SDK installer is verified working by Bradlee.
 Webserver for Steve Patterson
o Trying to find a time that Steve and I can meet.
o Production server needs to be stabilized.
 Dual Monitor Dual Mode
o Worked through varying methods to achieve this; all seem to have serious issues that may be
able to be resolved.
 Windows 7
o Learning PowerShell.
 Rewriting Ubuntu VM script in PowerShell so Rodney may compare the syntax to its
batch equivalent.
o Creating the base environment that Rodney and I will be using going forward.
 Re-setup base environment, this time with multiple snapshots of each major change.
 Most likely will not use SCCM as it is targeted for a more ‗power user‘ oriented
environment.
o Reading up on Microsoft Technologies for Windows deployment and management.
 Need to try and follow industry best-practices to avoid problems down the road.
Fire-fighting:
Plotting under Mosaic Linux works. Tested with the mosaic helpdesk. Though there appears to be limited
paper sizes to choose from; needs investigating.
Looking over the laptop refresh for PCS with HP, Dell, and Apple.
Met with Roy to learn about his progress on RHEL6 and Puppet.
Attempted to resolve an issue with the webservers Friday (3/4) morning. Resolved an issue with coe-web4,
but the root problem was with coe-web. I didn‘t have the access, so Jason was contacted.
Ameya Rahane
worked on Agilent ICCAP2010,Firefox as default browser in Thunderbird, ACL scripts
Sandeep Andre
Worked on ticket system enhancements
Mark Plover:
---------------------------------------------
A great amount of progress was made with the SPMS project. Both the edit an event and remove an event
pages were completed fully. Three next step in the milestone was to create a DB administration page. This
page is to modify the entries in the smaller reference tables. That page is also completed in full. A change
to the database was also made so that the student major would become a drop down list instead of a
textbox. The next steps to be taken are to create the event_log management page.
Bradlee Speice:
--------------------
Lots of bugfixes!
UbuntuVM - Android scripts are definitely approaching fool-proof. I believe I have documented nearly all
errors, and so long as the user reads all information included in the dialog boxes and follows the
documentation exactly, everything should go according to plan. I have done a couple of clean installs on
both Mosaic XP and Linux. That being said, I am working with Jack to try and resolve an issue he is having
that I believe is related to how the image was downloaded out of AFS. It might be a good idea to look at
hashing the download on the fly (there is a program called dcfldd that I am looking in to that may be able to
do this).
Other than that, it should be ready for testing, and pending the results from Jack, the demo.
Fluendo - I've gotten an MP3 install script up and running, all it is missing currently is a menu entry file.
Java Sound - was not able to do anything with this as the box that I am working on has a broken ALSA.
StarCCM+ - The "nohup" command is causing the computer to freeze when I try and use it to run a script,
not quite sure why.
ATI - got rpm's created for the new fglrx driver. Needs LOTS of testing that I won't be able to do until I get
back in the office.
VirtualBox - v4+ is causing issues - 4.0.0 - 4.0.4 is crashing on login, need to investigate why. Have posted
on forums to try and get this figured out.
Andrew stein:
-----------------------------
* Did not work this past week due to school work.
Jack M. Stein
Assistant Dean and Director of Engineering Computing
William States Lee College of Engineering
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
224 Cameron Research Center
9201 University City Boulevard
Charlotte, NC 28223
jmstein@uncc.edu
704-687-6625
412-848-6534 (cell)
704-507-1916 (Nextel)
704-687-2352 (fax)
Facebook